Leadership

11/16/2016

Debra Reed, chairman of the board of directors and chief executive officer of Sempra Energy, joined Dean Judy Olian as the first guest in the 2016–17 Dean’s Distinguished Speaker Series. Launching immediately into an explanation of the role of executive management in creating value for a company, Reed ranked “drive change” as the number one key to successful strategy development.

Reed, one of just 21 female chief executive officers of Fortune 500 companies, has been recognized every year since 2011 as one of Fortune magazine’s “Most Powerful Women in Business.” She joined SoCal Gas in 1978 and became the company’s first female officer a decade later. From 2006 to 2010, she was president and CEO of San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) and SoCal Gas, Sempra Energy’s regulated California utilities. Thirty-eight years since she began her career, she presides over a company with $41.1 billion in assets, operating revenues of more than $10 billion and 17,000 employees who serve 32 million consumers with energy services in the U.S., Mexico, Chile and Peru.

In October 2016 Fortune published Reed’s “4 Things Every Woman Should Know to Get to the C-Suite,” which are: 1) bid farewell to your comfort zone; 2) cultivate a mentor; 3) embrace diversity; and 4) make your mark. In her conversation with Olian and an audience that included Anderson MBAs and many other UCLA students and faculty, Reed said, “I cannot stress enough the value of using all sides of the brain, getting out of the silos.” Her advice is to combine the analytical and the intuitive, and to build a team of people different from yourself.

11/03/2016

On Wednesday, November 2, 2016, UCLA Anderson recognized The Boeing Company’s retired chairman, CEO and president W. James (“Jim”) McNerney, Jr., as the ninth recipient of the John Wooden Global Leadership Award. The audience of nearly 500 included UCLA Anderson Board of Visitors members and other generous supporters gathered under the Space Shuttle Endeavour at the California Science Center.

“I’m deeply honored by this award,” McNerney said upon receiving the award from UCLA Anderson Dean Judy Olian. “John Wooden — if you’re of my generation you know who he is, what he meant and what his values were. The prior (recipients), I know them all, and I’m very proud to be included in that group.”

The distinction is awarded annually to an exceptional leader who espouses and embodies the principles exemplified by the legendary UCLA coachteacher and leadership expert John R. Wooden. In her remarks, Dean Olian expressed admiration for McNerney’s decades of business success, which in 2015 earned him Chief Executive Magazine’s CEO of the Year, a distinction he shares with the 2014 Wooden Award honoree, Bob Iger.

One of the highlights of the evening (in addition to the Chicago Cubs’ winning Game 7 of the World Series; McNerney and UCLA Anderson’s Board of Visitors Chairman Bob Murley [’74] were among those pulling for the Cubs) was a discussion between McNerney and Michael Hiltzik, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist from the Los Angeles Times. Their discussion touched on a range of topics that included the current state of manufacturing in the United States and how a chief executive may impact corporate culture.

10/26/2016

For FBI Special Agent Eric Potocek (FEMBA ’18), the “intentness” and “enthusiasm” blocks are the most important in the John Wooden Pyramid of Success. “These are essential qualities. You must be personally driven to protect America.”

Potocek specializes in entertainment fraud, investigating and going after high-yield schemes that target unwitting mom and pop investors. In 2015 he closed the case on the Gigapix Studios investment scheme that defrauded hundreds of people who believed they were investing in a 3-D animated version of The Wizard of Oz. Previously, Potocek worked with the Special Inspector General for the Bush Administration’s Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, where he interviewed TARP’s key decision makers and examined the government bailout package provided to Citigroup.

Like Coach Wooden, Potocek was highly inspired by his father (also a white collar agent for the FBI and also once employed at Deloitte), who advised him, simply, “Always do the right thing.” In his line of work, he sees first hand that so often the victims of Ponzi schemes and other investment frauds are elderly people in rural heartland areas — unsuspecting targets, even Alzheimer’s patients, persuaded to hand over their life’s savings. Potocek enrolled at UCLA Anderson to develop the management and leadership skills that would enable him to make a greater direct impact on curbing greed.

“It’s incredibly motivating when you’re the last line of defense for the people you’re trying to protect. If you don’t find justice for them, the bad guys win.”

10/24/2016

A former Naval flight officer, test pilot and veteran of multiple carrier deployments over 21 years of service, Doug Larratt (EMBA ’17) learned the brotherhood of service as a midshipman at the U.S. Naval Academy, creating life-long bonds with friends who, like him, “bleed Navy blue and gold” (coincidentally Bruin colors as well). “There’s something about committing yourself to a higher cause and serving that cause with like-minded teammates,” he says. “The bond created is unique.”

Both of his own daughters are now UCLA Bruins, and Larratt feels he still serves by delivering high-quality systems to the young servicemen and women who defend our nation. He is one of four UCLA Anderson students receiving a 2016 John Wooden Global Leadership Fellowship on November 2.

Larratt is a program director at Orbital ATK, where he manages design, development and production of major air-launched missile systems. His current project, the Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile – Extended Range (AARGM ER) is the next generation missile for FA-18 and F-35 JSF aircraft.

Following his Naval Academy studies, Larratt served in the Navy operationally, flying the A-6E Intruder and EA-6B Prowler aircraft. He attended the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School, earned master’s degrees in aerospace engineering and strategic studies, and served in many flying and leadership positions while logging 2,260 total flight hours in 26 different aircraft and 501 carrier landings.

Larratt was sent on long deployments for many months at a time, while his wife, Bernadette, took care of their young daughters. “I am forever grateful. We moved eight times in 15 years of service.” He recalls flying through post-Gulf War oil fires in Kuwait, helping evacuate refugees from a volcano eruption in the Philippines, and celebrating Y2K on a carrier in the middle of the North Arabian Gulf. In 2007, he retired from the military and began working for Orbital ATK.

10/20/2016

U.S. Marine Corps veteran Captain Corey McMillen (’17) is pursuing his MBA as much to attain his career goals as to make a difference for other military veterans. He specialized in logistics and operations and, in the months between departing the Marine Corps and starting his full-time MBA, he offered his skills pro bono to Wounded Warrior Homes in San Diego.

Introduced to the teachings of Coach John Wooden as a teenager, McMillen says he only recently understood how deliberately the Pyramid of Success was built — and “the genius behind it,” as he puts it. “I don’t always think of myself as the smartest person in the room,” he laughs, “but I’m most likely the hardest working.”

The Fort Lauderdale native joined the Marine Corps Reserve in 2004 at age 17 with the consent of his mother, who eight years earlier had seized the reins of the family business when McMillen’s father — a cruise ship musical talent agent — died young. She wanted to see him complete his studies at the University of Central Florida, which McMillen combined with Officer Candidate School in 2005, becoming a full-time officer in 2008 and embarking on his first deployment in 2010, a second in 2011.

McMillen was stationed with a NATO unit in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, navigating and refining operations in a difficult international context when he found himself working under an officer of the Royal Air Force. “He was the smartest and most influential leader I have ever met. He consistently planned four or five steps ahead of everyone else and always knew the right question to ask, regardless of how chaotic or complex the environment,” McMillen says, recalling how he learned to own the challenge of sifting through information and language barriers, covering all contingencies to anticipate the needs of people and facilities while under attack.

Although she grew up in Nassau, Bahamas — an island measuring only 7 x 21 miles — Oliver has seen a lot of the world.

As a young teenager, Oliver met Nelson Mandela and was deeply impressed by his forgiveness and humility. Educated on a United World College scholarship in Victoria, British Colombia, she earned a B.A. from Macalester College in Minnesota. She served as a foreign service officer and met the likes of Condoleeza Rice and H.M. Queen Elizabeth II — both of whom influenced her sense of purpose and leadership. She worked in a hands-on capacity with Partners in Food Solutions to solve challenges of food production in Kenya. With a UK law degree and a background in economics and international affairs, Oliver now works with global distributors on contracting and compliance matters.

Both of Oliver’s parents were adult students and her son is a pivotal reason she is continuing her education at Anderson. She credits her entrepreneurial mother and grandmother as influences that demonstrated family sacrifice, recalling her mother’s adage, “To whom much is given, much is expected.” Along with preparation for the next stage of global leadership, the MBA is helping Oliver’s dreams to grow with her family.

Oliver echoes Coach Wooden in her personal philosophy that we do what we can, where we can for a higher purpose — regarding opportunities as small acts that evolve to serve the team’s needs. “Work hard. Give your best in every ‘game,’” she says. “That measure of success is truly yours.”

McNerney is retired chairman, CEO and president of the Boeing Company. He joined Boeing on July 1, 2005, serving as president until December 2013, CEO until July 2015 and chairman until March 2016. During McNerney’s tenure, the company recaptured the global lead in commercial airplane deliveries with steady increases in production and a comprehensive update of its product line, and maintained a strong position in defense markets despite a downturn in U.S. military spending. McNerney restored Boeing’s historic leadership in human spaceflight with major new program wins and expanded its engineering and manufacturing footprint inside and outside the United States.

The UCLA Anderson community applauds McNerney’s contribution to business and thought leadership and congratulates him on this distinction, which is awarded annually to an exceptional corporate leader who espouses the principles exemplified by the legendary UCLA coach and teacher, John Wooden.

A prolific author and inspiring speaker, Coach Wooden dedicated his life to motivating individuals to achieve their highest potential. He instilled in others a sense of pride, a commitment to ethics and a respect for teamwork. These fundamental principles translate seamlessly from the sports arena to the realms of business, management and leadership. And they provide the cornerstone on which the John Wooden Global Leadership Program is built at UCLA Anderson.

06/07/2016

Julia Ritchie (FEMBA ’17) defines busy. Somehow she finds the time to manage the sales operations department for McMaster Carr and devotes time to Snowriders International, all while fulfilling the responsibilities of UCLA Anderson’s FEMBA program. If that’s not enough, she’s now FEMBA Council President. The UCLA Anderson blog recently asked her to talk about her career, her passion for snow sports and — most important — time management.

Q: For those who don’t quite understand what McMaster Carr does, could you explain it to us and also describe your role and responsibility?

McMaster Carr is a private, family-owned supplier to industrial and commercial facilities worldwide, specializing in next-day delivery of maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) materials and supplies. In my current role, managing the sales operations department, we complete order follow-up such as expediting requests, backorders and replacements in under an hour. When something goes wrong on an order, our team is responsible for recovering gracefully to provide an excellent customer experience.

Q: You’ve been with the company for a while. How has your job evolved and changed? What’s different about your current work compared to prior positions with the company?

I began my McMaster career only three months prior to starting FEMBA as an order fulfillment supervisor responsible for capacity planning and daily operations. After a year I moved into a three-month project lead role designing how we could safely and efficiently operate our warehouse with 25 percent less drivable floor space due to renovations. Shortly after completing my first year of FEMBA, I was promoted to manager of our expansion department where I led a team of 130+ employees to execute thousands of material moves that would ultimately improve productivity and ensure inventory capacity for the next 10 years. The catch was that this was a six-month project that required working nights so that the daily operation could continue to run. For better or for worse, working nights as a FEMBA — attending class from 6:30 to 10:00 p.m. and then working 10:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. — pushed my limits but gave me confidence that I could handle adding FEMBA Council President to my plate, now that I am no longer nocturnal.

04/07/2016

I recently had the opportunity to attend the Dean’s Distinguished Speaker Series event featuring Jim Moffatt (’87), CEO of global consulting at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited. Jim joined Deloitte in 1987 after graduating from UCLA Anderson, became a partner in 1994, and has been a leader in Deloitte’s global scaling initiatives, while focusing on the energy and life sciences and health care practices. My classmate and outgoing president of Anderson’s Strategy & Operations Management Association (SOMA), Amirali Ghasemipour, had the honor of introducing Jim to a packed Korn Hall audience. The talk left several deep impressions on me, and challenged many of my assumptions.

Go Where the Innovation Goes

We all have preset notions of management consultants’ time-tested routines: walking in with sharp suits, collecting data and then implementing a framework analysis and delivering an impressive set of slide decks for their clients. Yet Jim's description of the practice could not be more radically different. A key point he made, for instance, was that management consulting is inherently about adapting as quickly as possible to shifts in technology, industry trends and client preferences. Deloitte intends to go where the innovation goes (as its recent history of technology and digital agency firms clearly demonstrates); no matter what function or industry you are in, you have to learn to speak the language and understand the underlying concepts of the 21st-century technological revolution. Jim made an important point about being cognizant not to surround yourself with people who tell you what you want to hear — that's a recipe for stagnant complacency and lost value, and a surefire way to get left behind.